Bathroom

I had to close bathroom door this morning to block Emma's access. She started opening all of the drawers, and I caught her pulling out my lotion bottles and playing with Q-tips. It will be interesting to see when she starts walking ... she might not for a while still because she can get anywhere she wants very fast by crawling. I love this baby!

Nine months

Emma turned nine months last week. I never even wrote an eight-month update, so this will probably include details for the past two months.

She is so much fun at this stage!

• She crawls everywhere ... FAST! She likes to get into anything she knows she's not supposed to ... especially the entertainment center stuff (loves pulling the Wii to the ground), magazines and, most recently, the toilet! Yuck! She also learned how to open the microwave last week! Awesome! I knew there was a good reason I hated it being so low.


• She is on a great eating schedule. Bottle and fruit between 6 and 7 a.m., another bottle around 10 a.m., lunch veggie, afternoon bottle, dinner and night bottle. That's only four bottles (6 ounces each). We are buying formula less often! The end is near. It's so hard to believe she will be drinking milk in less than three months! She loves Ritz crackers, puffs and lil cruchers. She tried yogurt this week, but isn't crazy about it.


• Growth-wise: Emma continues in the 75th percentile across the board. I am so happy she is growing steadily! At her nine-month checkup, she weighed 20 pounds, 3 oz. and measured 28.5 inches.
  
• Her balance is improving every day. She can stand up just by balancing on a wall (she doesn't have to pull herself up) and she cruises with ease.


• She loves bath time! Last night I tried to take her out before she was ready, and she let me know!


• Teeth: she now has six (that's no typo!)


• Tantrums: throws them any time we try to remove her from entertainment center or take away something she shouldn't have ... like DVDs (which she loves to pull down), electrical cords, etc.


• Sleeping: she is doing well overall. There was a rough week when I let her sleep with me more than I should have, but I really needed my sleep and she's so sweet to cuddle with! She is now back in her crib all night. And she wakes up right around 6 a.m. EVERY day.


• Clapping and waving: Debbie taught her how to clap! It is the cutest thing. She is also catching on to waving and sometimes gives us a high five.


• Daddy's girl: she prefers Denny over anyone, but loves me, too!
  

I feel like I'm forgetting more, but it's hard to remember everything. She is such a joy. It's hard to remember life without her. We are truly blessed with a sweet, passionate little lady.

Teeth update

Emma went eight and half months without any teeth. In the past three and half weeks, she has gotten six! I know I'm a first-time mom, but that seems like a lot! For the most part, she is handling it very well, but I think the pain is starting to get to her. I feel so bad for her. I am hoping they will come in fast and all the pain will be gone.

Yesterday, she was a little off. As I was trying to calm her last night, it made me realize how truly fortunate we are to have such a great baby! I mean, days like yesterday are so rare that I felt anxious and upset. Some parents have more of those challenging days than good days. I know we are truly blessed.

This morning she was in a pretty good mood overall. She acted a little cranky, but played well while I got ready. I'm single-parenting-it again for the next few days.

I will try to get some pictures of those teeth. This is the order they came in:

• Top righthand side (Debbie pointed out her first tooth; it was the first weekend of my two-week sickness)
• Next was the middle bottom tooth (my mom pointed out this one!)
• Followed the next day by the top lefthand side tooth
• Then the second bottom middle tooth
• Then the top middle
• And another bottom tooth on her right side

Really missing Emma today

Some work days are better than others. Today, I am struggling to concentrate because I just want to hold Emma. Chase after her, take her for walks, play outside. I miss my girl right now. Most days, I wouldn’t trade working for staying at home. As much as I love Emma, I like to work … to stimulate my mind, talk to adults, etc. I also know Emma loves day care, and those children love her! On Friday, Emma had a doctor’s appointment so I took her in later. As soon as I walked through the door, the little ones were saying, “Emma’s here!” So sweet. I love that! And she loves watching other children. (She will be an excellent sister someday.)
It doesn’t help that I have pictures of her plastered all around my desk!

Today is just challenging. I know it will end; I'll get busy, have a great conversation with a coworker and before I know, it will be time to go pick her up. But this morning has been awful! Okay, pity party over ... I need to go accomplish something!

Life …

It’s been kicking my butt lately. Or maybe that was the nasty virus capped off with pneumonia. Either way, it’s mid-May and I feel so behind. The good news is that I have a plan. A plan that includes goals—five-year goals that I have already started working toward. I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time … probably since the last time I could think of tangible goals. These include:

• Freeing ourselves of credit card debt – we already have a payment plan in place to make this happen. The bad news is that it will take five years. The good news is that we will be free from credit card debt! This is one I am most excited about. It will take a lot of discipline, but I know it will pay off in the end.
  
• Obtaining a master’s degree and getting a new job/promotion – I’ve been at my job for six years … with the same title. No good! (Don’t get me wrong, I am so fortunate for my job and the people I work with and the flexible schedule and all that I have learned … but I don’t want to settle.) I have been accepted into a Master of Arts in Communication program, and I will begin classes in September. I know I’m a dork, but I can’t wait to take classes again and work toward my degree, and eventually, my next career shift.
  
• Create a nest egg – that’s Denny’s term for savings. Right now we hardly have any, which has contributed to our reliance on credit cards. I am hoping to have enough saved to financially support our lifestyle (if we both lost our jobs) for a month by the end of this year. In five years, I am hoping it will be up to three months.
  
• Permanently lose 20 pounds – with the sickness, I am a little closer to my ideal weight, but this goal is also related to discipline. I need to eat better and exercise. It’s really pretty simple when it comes down to it. I also need to stop turning to food when I’m sad, bored, lonely, etc.
  
• Write or finish a book. This is the hardest goal to commit to, but I need to set aside my fear of failure and do it! Who cares if it never gets published or if it’s awful … many successful people fail before they succeed.

That’s all for now. These might not seem very big to a lot of people, but if I can look back in five years, having checked each of these off, I know I will be happy.